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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Monday, January 7, 2013

On the Street

A couple of posts back, I showed pictures of staircases going nowhere. On the same street, just a block up there was a staricase going to this cool old house. Of course, the great paint job and fun horns hanging on the front are interesting but what really grabbed my eye from some distance was the plants.

This house sits in the middle of a forest of palms, yuccas, and pampas grass. I was sorely tempted to knock on the door but the dogs in the front yard made me think better of it. The dogs seemed friendly enough but one never knows what might happen if someone tresspassed on their magic forest.﻿

The parking strip in front of the house if filled with Trachycarpus fortunei, Yucca, and artistically done rock installations. A neighbor across the street tells me that many of these rocks were dug from beneath the street in front when the city was doing a project. The homeowner asked that the rocks be placed in his parking strip and the workers were happy to comply.

A view up to the side yard and some larger palms.

Certainly an unusual treat in the pacific northwest to have nearly a whole block of palms to walk by.

Love these rock things!

This group, called Stonhenge, was created from boulders found in the garage when the owner moved in.

The reason that the palm walk goes on for such a distince is that the same fellow owns several lots all of which are for sale. If you've ever wanted to move into a palm forest in Tacoma, now's your chance. I would plant giant timber bamboo in the back to block the view of the modern building behind and would add some agaves, opuntias, and other plants that enjoy sharp drainage to the front sloping area. A few passion vines would disguise the chain link fence and I'd be tempted to replace the grass in the parking strip with something else & add some variegated yuccas to the mix.

At the far end of the block, there is a garden tended by someone who is a collector of evergreens of a different kind.

It's always fun to find gardens of passion! Hope you enjoyed this little walk up the street as much as I did!

It does look like he has a trailer of more spiky plants but it's an illusion - the trailer was empty & the plants were growing on the other side of it.

I sometimes forget, in my lust for things that aren't hardy here, how lucky we are to be able to grow so many wonderful plants here! Thanks for the reminder. (I'm still envious of your Bismarckia nobilis)

I heard from the neighbor that the gardener and owner of all three lots/2 houses is also the realtor. Based on the location and the housing market, I think you should call as you'd be pleasantly surprised at how much your real estate dollar can buy in Tacoma. Really! Much cheaper here than in Portland, Cistus is still only a couple of hours away and we will be getting our own McMinimins soon... PLUS, you'd be that much closer to Dragonfly, Heronswood, Dig, Jungle Fever, etc.

That was fun! I do have one windmill palm here in Oregon. I've seen them get really tall with a little fluff of leaves at the top--very Dr. Suess-- and this worries me. I find myself planting things under my one palm to maybe fill in later as it grows. Mostly I am terribly jealous of all those rocks, the best garden ornaments ever.

Palms are really best planted en masse! I personally didn't like palms for the longest time because in this area, we often see them in islolation or planted quite far apart in little squares of soil surrounded by concrete in front of car dealerships. Really, they're lined up like soldiers, they don't get any water all summer long and they seem sad as they slowly grow but mostly look yellow and sickly. When I finally saw them growing in groupings surrounded by other plants, I fell in love.

How fun to find other gardeners! I love that each one has his/her own passion, and that the different types of plants can all survive in your area. You should definitely try to meet the gardener somehow. Maybe wear a padded suit so if the dogs bite, it won't hurt. I bet you would make quite the first impression! ;)

About Me

Why Outlaw Gardener? I like to break the rules of good taste, plant placement, and plant hardiness. Also, I have received periodic "love notes" from the city code enforcement officer telling me that my parking strip plants encroach on the city's right-of-way. When expressing my distress over the latest such notice, I exclaimed to my pal Loree (Danger Garden) "I'm an outlaw gardener!" To which she replied,"That would be a good name for a blog."
My first gardens were in Southeast Alaska (zone 3.)I do miss the beauty and community of small-town Alaska but I don't take for granted for a moment how wonderful it is to garden in zone 8.